Just viewed the extended scenes up to the end of Prohibition they really don't add much do they? The Eve stuff is probably the most interesting.

Whilst I'm glad I've seen the additional scenes, the extended version is a bit of a disappointment.

It may be slightly sharper than WB's 2011 Blu-ray, but there's a tint throughout, compression artifacts and a lowering of contrast. Ignoring notices about the restoration etc, the running time has been increased by 20 mins 38 secs only.

This is less that the 26 minutes promised and a further 20 mins 22 secs needs to be added to bring it closer to Leone's 270 min version. I can only hope that one day a better version which addresses some of the shortcomings will be released.

I mentioned earlier that I thought the following additional scene was the only one that should never have been cut:

Quote

Gang in water / car explosionAbsolutely essential. The whole thing is shot and edited beautifully with a wonderful visual transition between the two time periods. Furthermore the introduction of the garbage truck helps with storyline continuity by linking with the end of the film. This should never have been cut.

The other scene I thought partially warranted inclusion was the following:

Quote

Noodles meets Eve at Moe's place / Deborah in station cafeThe beginning introducing Eve is essential for the storyline; the end with Deborah drinking in the cafe is essential for stylistic continuity and is a really beautiful little shot; the sex scene in the middle is unnecessary. After Noodles gets up to leave Moe’s speakeasy with Eve and asks if he can call her Deborah, there should have been a cut directly to Deborah in the cafe. This would have tied together the two of them drinking their sorrows away (Noodles at the bar, Deborah in the cafe) with Noodles’ mention of Deborah allowing a verbal link to accompany the visual. Unfortunately the sex scene between Noodles and Eve between these two scenes does not allow for this continuity.

OK: you all have convinced me to upgrade to the 2014 Extended Director's Cut.

Here's my situation: I have two homes, only one has a BluRay DVD player, the other has "regular DVD". So should I get the non-BluRay version of the Extended Director's Cut, or would I be missing something from the BluRay version? I realize that currently that the BluRay version could only be viewed at the one location.

Question 1: I haven't seen any BluRay discs on my TV yet; is the BluRay just better quality, and worth it? Or do BluRay discs typically have more material and extras? Thanks, I'm pretty inept at this. Oh yeah, I live in Arizona USA if that matters.

Question 2: Is this 2014 229 minute version the longest/most recent one available? This article says that a 251 minute version was screened in 2014 in NY https://nypost.com/2014/09/21/fresh-once-upon-a-time-in-america-cut-worth-every-second/ is this on DVD ?

Yes - BD is the way to go (come on Cusser you need to get with the times here )

The most "extended" cut available for home viewing is the one you've listed here. There are still some more scenes but they have not been released for home viewing - apparently the source material needed a lot more extra work. Hopefully one day, we will get to see that too. You should go back and read some earlier posts on this thread in that regard.

Yes - BD is the way to go (come on Cusser you need to get with the times here )

The most "extended" cut available for home viewing is the one you've listed here. There are still some more scenes but they have not been released for home viewing - apparently the source material needed a lot more extra work. Hopefully one day, we will get to see that too. You should go back and read some earlier posts on this thread in that regard.

OK - you've convinced me about which version and to go BluRay. Thanks for the input. $5.99 shipped from Best Buy, new.

OK - you've convinced me about which version and to go BluRay. Thanks for the input. $5.99 shipped from Best Buy, new.

I try and do research before i specifically hone in on Blu RAy versions of movies. Sometimes, the extra dollars over DVD might not be worth it. Sometimes, the DVD price and the Blu Ray price closely match up. When they do, i automatically go for the Blu Ray version...

OK: you all have convinced me to upgrade to the 2014 Extended Director's Cut.

Question 1: I haven't seen any BluRay discs on my TV yet; is the BluRay just better quality, and worth it? Or do BluRay discs typically have more material and extras? Thanks, I'm pretty inept at this. Oh yeah, I live in Arizona USA if that matters.

Question 2: Is this 2014 229 minute version the longest/most recent one available? This article says that a 251 minute version was screened in 2014 in NY https://nypost.com/2014/09/21/fresh-once-upon-a-time-in-america-cut-worth-every-second/ is this on DVD ?

I have most of the versions of the movie - original VHS, DVD, 2011 Blu-ray, more recent Italian & U.S. extended editions. Blu-ray is the best option.

Leone's original version ran to 4 and a half hours (270 minutes). This has never been publicly available.

Ignoring PAL speed up, the running time of the original version, now known as the Theatrical Cut, is 229 minutes.

Approximately 21 minutes of additional scenes are now available and the version known as the Extended Director's Cut runs for 251 minutes.